PORT OF BLUFF

Southland Times, Issue 22215, 6 January 1934, Page 2

PORT OF BLUFF

SAILED. FRIDAY, JANUARY 5. Rangitata m.v. (Captain Hunter) 17,000 tons for Napier at 5 p.m.

EXPECTED. ARRIVALS. Poolta, Wellington, to-morrow. Cornwall, Dunedin, January 10. Waikouaiti, Port Kembla, January 11. Waipiata, Dimedin, January 11. Fordsdale, London, January 12. Storm, Lyttelton, January 15. Port Sydney, Australia, January 15. Wainui, Melbourne, January 15. Port Napier, England, January 28. Port Hunter, Wellington, January 31. Huntingdon, Wellington, February 13. Matakana, Dunedin, March 7. Waikawa, Dunedin, May 20.

PROJECTED DEPARTURES. Poolta, Dunedin, January 8. Waikouaiti, Dunedin, January 11. Cornwall, Port Chalmers, January 12. Waipiata, Dunedin, January 12. Fordsdale, Port Chalmers, January 14. Storm, Dunedin, January 15 Port Sydney, Lyttelton, January 15. Wainui, Dunedin, January 15. Port Napier, Lyttelton, January 30. Port Hunter, , February 4. Huntingdon, London, February 15. Matakana, , March 9. Waikawa, Melbourne, May 20. GENERAL NOTES.

The Tamatea makes a week-end trip to Stewart Island to-day, sailing at 2.30 p.m. She returns on Monday morning, leaving the Island at 7.0 a.m. The New Zealand Shipping Company’s motor liner Rangitata yesterday finished her Southland loading and sailed in the late afternoon for Napier

in continuation of Homeward loading. The O.S.K. Line motor ship Brisbane Maru was scheduled to leave Moji on January 1 for Hong Kong, Australia, Wellington, and Auckland. She is due at Wellington about February 2. The O. and O. Line steamer Colden Bear was to leave Los Angeles on January 1 for Auckland, Wellington, and Australia. She is due at Auckland on January 26. The New Zealand Shipping Company advises that the Remuera, en route from London to Wellington, Lyttelton, Port Chalmers, and Timaru, sailed from Panama on December 30. The vessel is due at Wellington on January 20. The Union Company’s Royal Mail Steamer Makura, en route from San Francisco, arrived at Papeete on December 30, and at Rarotonga on January 1. The Makura is due at Wellington on Monday, and will leave again the following day for Sydney. The New Zealand Shipping Company

advises that the City of Tokio is scheduled to leave New York on March 16 for Auckland, Wellington, Lyttelton, Dunedin, and Australia. She will be followed by the Winton on April 8. Further details of the two new twinscrew motor cargo ships which have been ordered by the Blue Star Line for the Great Britain-New Zealand trade are supplied by a London correspondent. The ships are being built by Messrs Harland and Wolff, Belfast, being each about 13,000 tons gross and having a service speed of 16 knots. The - are to be 515 ft long,' 70ft in beam, and 43ft 6in deep. In addition to general cargo they will have a large amount of refrigerated space specially fitted for the carriage of chilled beef, dairy produce, frozen meat, and other perishable cargo. While the ships are intended mainly for cargo purposes, on account of their speed enabling them to reach New Zealand in about 30 days, they will be fitted with luxurious accommodation for 12 passengers. One of the new cargo liners will be delivered to the line next December, and the other will be completed shortly afterwards. The old freighter Edina is apparently quite a world-wide object of interest, as, from time to time, the Sydney agents receive letters from abroad relative to her wonderful record, reports the Sydney Shipping List. Extensive overhauling operations have recently been carried out on the Edina, and it is anticipated that she will continue for a number of years to ply in the Melboume-Portar-lington-Geelong trade. Unfortunately for the vessel, owing to the trend for road transport, the Edina’s trading, bath as regards passengers and cargo, is not what it used to be in years gone by, when it took three vessels, namely, the Edina, Courier, and Excelsior, to cope with the trade on that route, in which the Edina is now the sole survivor, being more than sufficient to cope with present requirements. She was built in 1854 by Messrs Barclay, Curie, and Co., and launched on May 4 of that year. Her tonnage is 380 gross.

WITHIN WIRELESS RANGE. The following vessels were within range of the undermentioned wireless stations yesterday: — Auckland: Aorangi, Cambridge, Canadian Victor, Hauraki, Huntingdon, Kanna, O. A. Knudsen, Waipahi, Wanganella. Wellington: Ashburton, Avelona Star, Bear of Oakland, Cornwall, Golden Eagle, Hertford, Karamea, Karepo, Kent, Kiwitea, Mahia, Marama, Matai, Maui Pomare, Niagara, Nordanvik, Otira, Rangatira, Rangitane, Recorder, Remuera, Rotorua, Sultan. Star, Sydney Maru, Tamahine, H.M.S. Veronica, Wahine. Awarua: Benreoch, Canadian Highlander, Fordsdale, Jacob Ruppert, H M.S. Laburnum, Makura, Maunganui, Monowai, Strathaird, Rangitata, Taranaki, Wainui, Wyatt Earp, Zealandic. Chatham Islands: Nil.

NEW SHIPPING ORDERED.

EVENTS OF 1933. MANY VESSELS BEING CONSTRUCTED. A remarkable revival in world shipping has been a feature of 1933, and New Zealand has not been the last, to benefit from the improvement. An indication of the confidence which the great shipping lines have in the future of the Dominion is that since- April last orders for 11' ships have been placed by companies trading to New Zealand, and the building of a twelfth vessel is contemplated. In addition several new companies have begun services to New Zealand during the year, including the great Blue Star Line. The new vessels which have been ordered for the New Zealand service are as follows:—

An 11,250 ton (dead-weight capacity) motor-ship for the Commonwealth and Dominion Line, which was launched at Newcastle-on-Tyne on October 8, and named the Port Chalmers.

A 700-ton motor coastal vessel for the Canterbury Steam "Shipping Company, to replace the Breeze. She was launched at Bowling, near Glasgow, on November 16, and is now on her way to New Zealand.

Two 12,000-ton motor cargo ships for the Shaw, Savill and Albion Company. Their keels were laid down on June 29, and they will be completed about the end of next autumn.

A 13,500-ton (dead-weight capacity) motor cargo ship for the Shaw, Savill and Albion Company The order -as placed in November, and the ship is expected to be completed about next spring. Two 11,000-ton motor cargo ships for the New Zealand Shipping Company (Federal Line). They are now being constructed, and should be in commission next autumn.

Two 13,000-ton motor cargo ships for the Blue Star Line, which are expected to be in commission next summer.

A 2260-ton steamer for the Union Steam Ship Company, now being constructed. It should arrive in New Zealand about next June. It will be named the Waitaki. An 8800-ton motor cargo ship for the Commonwealth and Dominion Line, which was ordered this week.

Although no order has yet been placed, it is understood that plans are being prepared for an inter-colonial passenger steamer of about 11,500 tons gross for the Union Steam Ship Company. It will have a speed of 20 knots. In addition to "hese, two new ships have been commissioned by companies operating lines to the Dominion. These are the Wanganella (formerly the Achimota), commissioned by the Huddart, Parker Company, and the Akaroa (formerly the Euripides), commissioned by the Shaw, Savill and Albion Company. Finally a new vessel, named like her predecessors the Southern Cross, has been built for the Melanesian Mission and put into service, as well as a smaller vessel, the Patteson. SIGNALS AT SEA. INTERNATIONAL CODE. CHANGE-OVER EFFECTED. Mariners the world over on Monday discarded their old set of flag signals and signal books and adopted the revised system which has been evolved to meet the demand for a fully efficient and really international code. A year’s warning was given of the impending change, and for the past six months most of the vessels in New Zealand waters have been using their new flags and books. Speaking to an Auckland Star representative on the subject, an official stated that the new system would remove many of the disadvantages of the old and'introduce .a needed’uniformity.

The old system was tested under the most rigorous conditions during the war years, and it was found wanting. Since then representatives of all maritime nations met at Washington, and the new system is the result of their deliberations.

t The recent publication of the interI national code consists of two volumes—volume one for visual and sounds signalling, and volume two for radio signalling. While mainly for the use of ships, the new code also provides a considerable number of signals suitable for the use of aircraft. The new visual code makes use of 26 alphabetical flags, 10 numeral flags, and three flags known as “substitutes,” in place of the 26 alphabetical flags of the existing code. It thus enables numbers to be signalled directly. Further, by means of the “substitutes,” signals can be made in which there are repeated letters or numbers. Such signals cannot, as a rule, be made by the present, code unless a ship has two or more complete sets of the existing signalling flags. In the new code, new square flags have been introduced for the letters C, D, E, F, and G, and the pendants (or pennants), which in the existing code represent these letters, are used to denote the numerals 1 and V respectively, new pendants having been introduced to denote the remaining numerals 0 and VI to IX. Certain alterations in the meanings of the single-letter signals have been made in the new code, and the twoletter signals have been completely revised, though certain important twoletter signals, such as NC, JD, and PT, retain their old and well-established meanings. The three-letter signals have been completely revised and brought up to date. The geographical section has been entirely re-written. A notice to mariners, issued by the Marine Department, draws special attention to the fact that the existing pilot signal S (“I want a pilot”) is replaced’ by the letter G (“I require a pilot”). In the quarantine signals, the flag signal Q will indicate a clean bill of health, while the two flag signals, QQ and QL, will indicate an infected ship. The new night signal (to be used only when within the precincts of a port), will consist of a red light over a white light, the lights being not more than six feet apart. . “A suitable procedure, when it is desired to exchange communications by the new code,” states the notice, “would be to hoist the code pendant with the fly tied to the halyards, to which signal the answering ship, if able to communicate in the new code, would reply by a similar hoist. Should the answering ship only be able to communicate in the old code, she would hoist the code pendant as at present.” The volume on radio signalling is the first official international wireless telegraphy code issued specially for the use of the merchant and air services. _ It contains full instructions for use, including advice as to the best methods of compiling code messages so as to avoid difficulties of translation, a table for correcting corrupt groups, a general vocabulary and a geographical section. An interesting feature of this volume is the case-stating system embodied in the medical section. The object of this system is to enable ships which do not carry a doctor to send code messages to other ships or coast stations, asking for medical advice or assistance. This system is complete in itself, and is so arranged that, when all the conditions of the code are in operation, it will enable communications regarding medical matters to be made between ships of different nationalities, thus avoiding difficulties of language.

TELEGRAPHED REPORTS. COASTAL AND OVERSEAS. (United Press Assn.—Telegraph Copyright.) Auckland, January 5. Arrived: Narbada 9.5 a.m. from Calcutta. Sailed: Port Whangarei 6 p.m. for Wellington. Wellington, January' 5.

Arrived: Poolta 1.55 a.m. from Gisborne; Sultan Star 5.40 a.m. from Port Chalmers: Rangatira 7 a.m., Calm 8 a.m. from Lyttelton; Waikawa 10.15 a.m from New Plymouth. Sailed: Wakakura 10 a.m. for Dunedin; Calm noon for Picton; Sultan Star 1.50 p.m. for Auckland; Marama 3 p.m. for Sydney; Cornwall 3.55 p.m. for Lyttelton; Sydney Maru 4.50 p.m. for Auckland; Poolta 6.20 p.m. for Bluff; Rata 6.20 p.m. for Westport; Rangatira 7.50 p.m. for Lyttelton... Lyttelton, January 5. Arrived: Wahine 6.40 a.m. from Wellington; Taupata 7.15 a.m. from Wellington; Port Waikato 8.5 a.m. from Timaru; Waimarino 8.40 a.m. from Timaru. Sailed: John 11.40 a.m. for Dunedin; Port Waikato 1.5 p.m for Wellington; Taupata 2.50 p.m. for Nelson; Waimarino 3.30 p.m. for Wellington; Tees 3.40 p.m. for Chatham Islands; Wahine 8.15 p.m. for Wellington.. Dunedin, January 5. Arrived: Storm 9.15 a.m, from Wellington. Sailed: Canadian Highlander 5 a.m. for New York; H.M.H. Laburnum 6 p.m. for Stewart Island; Storm 6.30 p.m. for Timaru.

Suva, January 5. Sailed—Yesterday, Waipahi for Auckland.

London, January 4. Sailed: Pakeha from Magellanes.